It was with some trepidation that we waited for the Prime Minister's statement in the House of Commons this afternoon. Over the weekend, as the news from Algeria grew ever bleaker and the death toll from the attack on the In Amenas gas plant continued to rise, the tone of official pronouncements, including from David Cameron on Sunday, sounded alarmingly simplistic and shrill.

David Cameron's supposedly historic speech on Europe has been postponed yet again. The Prime Minister was right not to go ahead with the address, scheduled for this morning, in the light of the febrile and tragic events unfolding in Algeria. Indeed, he had no choice, not least because to be seen "banging on about Europe" while British lives were at risk would have been the ultimate emblem of his and his party's misplaced priorities.

Full marks to Jodie Foster. The actress's "coming-out" speech at the Golden Globes award ceremony may have surprised few ardent Hollywood-watchers. But it was no less brave for all that, and no less touching an insight into the difficulties of so public a life.

Almost halfway through the traditional month of detox seems a good time to examine the grey area of legal highs. That such things exist in the first place can be traced back to the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920, which represented Britain's first formal drug legislation. Cocaine was banned, with cannabis added to the list in 1928. LSD was prohibited in 1966, and the substance that came to be known as Ecstasy was added a few years later.

Another ripsnorter for the Jon Stewart highlights reel, this time on gun control. The Daily Show hostlast night took issue with the American right's response to the Sandy Hook shooting - which, in his selection of clips, consists largely of blaming videogames and trashy 90s movies - and served up some golden television in the process.